One Light in the Dark
by Draws-With-Words
Summary: The attack on Earth commences, but does not go as planned. Hammer is decimated, and in the wake of the chaos, Shepard is nowhere to be found. The fragile alliance forged to combat the Reapers is dissipating quickly. Join several familiar and unfamiliar faces as they try to find the lost Commander, and unite the galaxy one last desperate time. Multiple POV.
1. Prologue, Goodman

**Hello! And welcome to my first attempt at a Mass Effect Fanfiction. I just want to make a few notes before you begin reading.**

**The summary says suspense, but this story makes heavy use of elements of mystery and romance. One warning to the reader: THINGS MAY NOT BE WHAT THEY SEEM. Make assumptions, do some guesswork, and see if you're as good a detective as you think. Hopefully this will be enjoyable for both reader (you) and writer (me).**

**This story will have some heavy adult themes, so if you are uncomfortable with violence, harsh language, and suggestive sequences, I ask you to turn back now**

**I did not mention who was romancing who in the description as it is a BIG part of how the story unravels. Have fun reading and trying to figure out all the twists and turns out.**

**The story will be told primarily from various POV characters. The first passage is written differently to act as a sort of prologue.**

**Above all, thanks for reading! Enjoy!**

**Hammer Has Fallen**

The holographic screen loses connection to the camera broadcasting from the war-torn battlegrounds of Earth. Admiral Hackett blinks once, not even flinching at the sight he has just witnessed, despite the implication; Earth may now be doomed. Admiral Hackett has no choice. Despite the deep feeling of terror and confusion stirred within the pit of his stomach, he had to keep his resolve about him, the slightest chink in his armor would alert the remaining soldiers that their chances of defeating the Reapers has likely dropped from slim all the way down to none. Hackett's sunken in eyes stare at the scrambled image a few moments longer, standing in defiance of the heavy purple bags that have formed directly beneath his eyes.

"Rewind the recording, begin at Hammer's final charge. Let's make sure we know what happened."

"Sir." The Alliance Engineer responded, pulling back the frame to near the beginning of the clip.

A view from a tall partially destroyed yet still standing skyscraper captures the battlefield well enough. To the far left tanks and gunships are emerging from the bombed out ruins of a previous battle. Infantry of all type surround the artillery. The scene is actually quite impressive. A vanguard of Asari, Krogan, Turian, Human, and a number of other races that you would not imagine working together side by side. The scene is impressive, until the entire picture is viewed. To the far right massive warships dwarf the allied forces of Human and alien that are standing opposed. The massive flagships known as the Reapers appear to take a defensive position around an intensely glowing blue beam that reaches well into the sky, past what the camera is able to capture.

The soldiers and officers who are looking upon the vid nearby but behind Hackett's position watch in strained silence, not daring to make a sound as the Admiral watches in quiet contemplation. Everyone knows what is about to occur even if they hadn't already seen it. The allied force is Hammer, sent to secure the beam to the Citadel in the hopes of discovering the means to activate the Crucible in time to destroy the Reapers and secure one last glorious victory for mankind, and all organic life throughout the galaxy...and they were about to be slaughtered mercilessly.

Hammer begins the charge regardless, the air in the room seems to leave all at once as everyone holds their breathe, hoping that this time watching will be different, that the first time their eyes were just playing tricks on them, that hope still remained because something had gotten by. They were quickly corrected courtesy of Harbinger. Massive red beams shot out from the mile long Reaper flagships, decimating whole flanks within seconds.

The charge continues, they cannot fail. We are depending upon them.

Another volley from the Reapers obliterates more of Hammer. Panic begins to spread among the soldiers as most of their gunships and tanks have already been destroyed. The few wounded still alive clutch critical wounds. Legs blown off, arms, flesh burned to the skeleton, the pained expression of brave soldiers failing to complete their mission is all captured in painful accuracy by the camera drone. Hammer is already less than half of what it was.

And yet they continue onward, maybe there's still a-

Another blast rocks the building that the camera drone is placed in, but it corrects its sighting and is now again looking at the devastation. A handful of Hammer still remains mobile and charging, they are getting close now. The CIC of the Admiral's flagship becomes heavy with pained silence and simple desperate, pleading, please-god-make-it-happen hope, and then...

The camera drone zooms in to catch a glimpse of a tall Human soldier leading the charge as he had been from the beginning. Clad in imposing black armor, and his head covered in a helmet, the only distinguishing feature that made everyone certain of who he was a silver and red insignia on his armor that clearly read "N7". Everyone in the CIC knew who the man was, the first Human Spectre needed no introduction. To the Alliance, he was already one of the most awe inspiring heroes to have ever been born. To enemies of the Alliance, he is known as one of the most terrifying and destructive forces in the Galaxy. Commander Shepard.

Boom.

About thirty soldiers remain, one tank, one gunship.

Boom.

No more heavy weapons, Shepard and two others, a Turian and an Asari narrowly escape the shrapnel from the recently exploded tank, the blast nearly killing them outright. Shepard uses the moment to radio someone, and shortly thereafter, an equally as well known Alliance frigate precariously enters the battlefield, hastily picking up the Asari and the Turian, Shepard opting to stay behind. The charge mercilessly continues.

Another shot burns a new divide in the already defeated Earth, what's one more scar to it now? Ten soldiers rush forward.

Boom.

Six...Four now...Three...

And one, the first Human Spectre, and the last man standing. He continues forward. This is it, he was going to beat the odds again. Shepard was unstoppable, not even death really stopped him, only slowed him down. The Leviathan's respected his might, Saren was forced to bow to his indomitable force of character, and the Collectors had already faced the full force of his fury. Suicide missions are what made Shepard the icon he is, the one spark left for humanity to end this war on the winning side, and he was almost-

Boom.

There...

It seemed to happen in slow motion. Harbinger, the Reaper leading the others fired once more, aimed for the only person left standing. It was accurate. The ground exploded at Shepard's feet, and the Commander seemed to disappear inside the beam. The resulting explosion finally destroyed the building in which the drone was perched. Chaos quickly became quiet. Remains, corpses, wreckage, and the last hope for organic life lay scattered about the battlefield...Hammer was defeated.

The screen went blank. Admiral Hackett spoke again, without taking his eyes from the monitor, a terrifying silence gripped the massive CIC in a death grip, there was nothing to be said except by the Admiral.

"Anything left of Hammer?"

"There are several reports of scattered forces with a small fraction of gunships and tanks still operational. All forces have gone into hiding for the time being. Some have ceased to respond to orders. They are demoralized." The same Alliance Engineer spoke in return.

"How did the Normandy make out?"

"It was shot down a few miles from the extraction point. Early reports say that there are survivors, and damage to Normandy is repairable with a supply drop."

"And Shepard?"

There is a strained silence before an answer. "No reports Admiral. The beam is still being heavily guarded, and with Hammer all but wiped out..."

"I understand." Hackett interjected, not needing to hear the fluff right now.

Silence still had the room in a choke hold, the darkened CIC seeming like a group of men and women now counting down to their respective dooms. Silent tears of rage and sorrow lurked within the dimly lit area, as well as nervousness, and a feeling of cold terror. A lieutenant suddenly steps forward, breaking the silence and speaking, hoping to get some direction from the Admiral.

"Sir, the Asari, Salarians, and Turians have all threatened to pull their forces from the fight and retreat to their respective home worlds. They seem to believe the war has already been lost...The casualties are massive."

"Negative Lieutenant, if we lose either of those three the war is lost. As long as we stand united we still have a chance of pulling this out of the hat."

"But sir, they've lost...We've lost the person who made them even come together in the first place. Without Commander Shepard..."

Hackett took a step back from the screen, turning his back to it for the first time and closing his eyes a moment. He exhaled a few times from his nose, the only sign that he was in the least bit perturbed by the events he just witnessed. The battle for Earth had only begun one day beforehand, and already they were on the brink of an overwhelming defeat. If they failed to activate the crucible, all advanced life in the galaxy ceased to exist. All families, children, schools, photos from home, memories, hope...It all would vanish. No pressure here at all.

"I want a team on the ground now. Best Infiltrator's we still have. If Shepard is dead I need to know, and if he's alive..." Hackett turns back to facing his original position. "He's going to finish this god damn war, and we are going to hurt these machines in ways they never feared they could be. Am I understood?"

The Lieutenant nodded.

"Good, now get to it."

Hackett turned to the Engineer now.

"Play it again..."

* * *

"Imagine you wake up, and your world is...Burning."

I see...A woman. Beautiful eyes, she has a certain air about her. She appears to be almost...Blue? No that can't be right, but yet it is. I blink, but my vision is still very fogged. What am I looking at? A picture of some sort maybe? The woman has something in her hand. What the fuck is that? Again, everything is so foggy...Why? I take a step forward.

Suddenly the woman is on fire. Where did that come from? Why is this happening? The flames spread until the shimmering blue woman is engulfed completely in the flames. My heart aches, badly, but I cannot determine why...This woman must be someone important, important enough for me to risk injury and reach for her. I lunge, trying to get a hold of her. I get close, almost there, just a little farther...

"You..."

I awake with a gasp. The sound is deafening all around as I sit up wide eyed like I had just had my head dunked in a pool of ice cold water. Where am I? I look around and see stone, cracked and corroded. I'm in a room, barely a room. The walls of the stone have large holes blasted through them, revealing the inner iron rods that support the buildings structure. To my left is a body...

I sit in silence for a moment.

To my left is a _fucking body!_ What the hell is going on!?

The presence of the dead quickly shakes me from my deep sleep reverie and returns me fully to the awakened state. I look over to my right and start to put the picture together. I see three soldiers taking cover next to the largest hole in the building. The soldiers faces were marred with grime and sweat and blood, and if there was a physical representation of desperation, it was smeared upon them as well. Intermittently, one of the soldiers would peak from behind their cover and fire off a couple shots from their assault rifles, only to be greeted with a hail of return fire, causing them to duck back into cover. The sounds of battle are loud and obtrusive to my waking ears, but I shrug it off and try to rise to my feet.

One of the soldiers finally notices me moving about and screams over to me. "Hey look he's!..."

One of the other soldiers notices at the same time and places a hand on the soldiers shoulder, giving him a look. The other soldier who had just yelled toward me gives a nod back before looking to me again and screaming over the deafening noise of battle.

"Goodman! Get your ass over here! We need your help or we're not getting out of this hole alive!"

Goodman? I guess that was me. It's not like I was in a position to question it anyway. I got into a crouched position so as to not make my head a target for enemy snipers and worked my way over to the group of soldiers and entered cover, trying to avoid the flurry of shots that ripped through the hole in the cover ever so often.

"What's going on!?" I said

The soldier closest to me, his face marred by several scars, some new, some old, appraised me for a moment. "You must have hit your head harder than we thought Goodman! You're in the middle of the war to end all wars!"

I fell quiet as I tried to recall this war he mentioned. I could remember some things. I was a soldier for sure, I remember arriving here via ship and being assigned with some sort mission concerning securing some sort of foothold in the area. I could also recall who we were fighting. The Reapers.

"Shit...Yeah, I remember now." I said, finally realizing the graveness of the situation we were in.

"About time! Now, I don't suppose you remember being this squad's best marksman!? Because we could really use that right now!"

"I don't have.." I look down into my hands, and I silence myself. A rifle rests in my hands as if it was a part of me. Was that there this whole time? I observe the rifle a moment. I did not remember having this rifle, but somehow, implicitly I knew everything about it in my head. Mattock model X, heavily modified with illegal mods, advanced scope, extended barrel, piercing mod, omni-blade attachment. Damn, this thing was a beauty. I mean, judging by all the nicks, scratched paint, and dried splotches of blood, it had obviously seen some serious mileage, but it was still a beauty of a gun.

I nodded at the soldier in front of me and waited for the fire from the enemies beyond the wall to stop for a moment. As soon as it did, I peaked over the corner and quickly tried to acquire a target. I found it immediately. Charging toward our cover were some sort of half organic half synthetic creatures. They were...Wrong, they shouldn't exist. Their eyes were merely sockets, empty and soulless. Glowing blue cybernetics ran the length of their ravaged and tortured bodies. Sickening screams emanated from the abominations. Husks were the name of these creatures. Again an implicit understanding. For some goddamn reason I just was having issue remembering what seemed extremely basic. I shook off the feeling of uneasiness to focus back onto my targets.

I acquired targets and fired, the satisfying sound of a single Mattock round firing and finding its mark was heard after each pull of the trigger.

Ptchk! Ptchk! Ptchk!

That's how I would describe the sound of a Mattock round being released from the chamber. Husks fell with each shot of the rifle. I took a few moments of cover when the enemy would return fire from their ranged units farther down, and would pop back up again mechanically as soon as they stopped, using a projectile a piece to drop the Reaper forces.

The battle seemed even, but despite my help I could get a sense that not the entire squad would survive if they continued to press the attack. The volley of fire overhead stopped again, that was my cue. I popped out of cover and quickly dropped three husks, and when I went back to cover I was surprised not to hear immediate return fire. I looked to the other extremely weary soldiers and nodded before slowly lifting my head out of cover to observe. The field was being emptied by the Reaper forces that were able to use projectiles. It was as if they had just given up, or maybe they had gotten orders for a higher priority point. I did not give a rats ass why they were retreating, as long as they were giving the haggard and beaten down soldiers some time to rest, it was fine by me.

I stood up, silently watching as the remaining three soldiers asked each other about their wounds, and if they needed help treating them. I simply stood, staring at the mass wasteland stretching before me in rubble, blood, and broken bodies. I peered out over the landscape, and after only a few moments, the right words were coming to form on my lips. I uttered them in a whisper.

"London..."

One of the soldiers called from behind me. "Goodman, we need to get this crate of medical supplies to the field control center, it was our original mission, and a whole lot of civies are fucked if we don't get them back, and soon."

I nodded. Something felt off, like it wasn't supposed to happen this way. He acknowledged that they were in the biggest war that humanity had ever seen...But really, what the fuck hit me so hard that I couldn't remember my own god damn _Name?_

_**First chapter down, please let me know what you think. If you hate, if you love it, I want to know so I can improve.**_

_**Any questions feel free to PM me.**_


	2. Javik, Shepard

**A/N: This chapter came out rather much shorter than I would have liked. It was originally much longer, but the next POV that occurs really begins to quicken the pace in the search for Shepard, and I feel as if it would have been awkward to include it, rather than separate it. Enjoy, and please review if you have a moment. Good, bad, ugly, I appreciate every scrap of feedback.**

* * *

**Earth, London.**

**One day after the fall of Hammer.**

**Javik.**

I waited until the primitive thief woman gave the signal. She was in the state were she believed herself to be invisible from sight, or "cloaked" as I had heard other primitives of this cycle refer to it. Foolish, I could see her plain as day, but perhaps others couldn't, it would explain how we managed to get this far without Reaper detection, so I was inclined to follow her lead.

I let my eyes wander as she scouted, observing the other cloaked soldiers that were accompanying us. They held rifles in their hands, the type designed specifically for targeting enemies from a position that they would not need to fear return fire. Cowardly, but effective. They scanned the perimeter for signs of trouble, and would relay any information back to the hooded thief who was leading.

Finally the signal that the coast was clear came, and I emerged from my hiding spot amongst the rubble, and cautiously made my way to where the thief known as Goto was crouched down. I kneeled next to her. She shot me a glance, her eyes mostly obscured through her cloth, but I knew already her emotions better than she. She was waiting for some good news, trying to keep an upbeat attitude despite the circumstances. Stupid girl, we were likely all doomed, the sooner she made peace with that the better, and less annoying, she would be.

The environment around us was bleak, could she not comprehend that? Not one soul on the current battlefield was still living. The burned body parts and the empty eye sockets where eyes were literally melted from their places should have been more than enough to snap her out of whatever fantasy she was living in her head. Alas, she persisted. Why were all the damn primitives in this cycle so persistent?

I lowered my palm to the ground as she opened a comm channel to the Human Admiral. They began speaking as I attempted to feel the memories of the scorched Earth around me.

Immediately, I could see the death and destruction. Or rather, I could _feel it_. The heat of guns and weapons, the ice cold feeling of fear and terror unmistakeable. Slowly, I could feel the Reapers wiping out the resistance, the warm notes of organic life began to perish tens at a time. I wept on the inside for the primit-...for the soldiers, for the warriors, they had earned that distinction with their lives. The Reapers were characterized by...an absence. A gaping black hole where their should have been emotion and thought and feeling. Abominations.

"We are at the site, no trouble so far...No signs of Shep' either." The voice of Goto penetrated lowly through my skull, but it was merely a background hum compared to the sounds in my head. Luckily, her voice was not as annoying as a certain Asari, she would not break my focus.

"Nothing at all?"

"Nothing I can see Admiral Hack'."

"Not even a body? Dog tags perhaps? I need to know what the status of the Commander is, or else we are at a leverage disadvantage immediately with the other races."

"Javik's taking a look now, but I don't think."

I drowned Goto's voice out as a particularly strong feeling entered my consciousness. An extremely obtrusive color. A bright red and orange fire, blazing without shame down through the slope. The other hums and of the organics were warm, some of them admirable and brave, but their light was borrowed from the supernova that led them. I remembered this instantly, after spending so much time among that entity it rang instantly with a name in my head.

"_Shepard"_

I focused on his path, how he charged even after all the soldiers beside him vanished from existence, extinguished by the black holes. And then, inevitably, Shepard's light dimmed, but it did not go out. Rather, it was obstructed maybe. Regardless, the inferno became weak, very weak.

"_A slow death then? How unfortunate an end for the Exemplar of Victor-..."_

I cut my thought short. Another approached, not a Reaper, an organic, several of them. They surrounded the dimming light of Shepard, and as soon as they came, others did as well. They were...Reapers? They had a similar feeling, but it was different. I could not pinpoint why, I had never seen anything like them. There was conflict in their hearts, as if for each one body, there was two people. They fought, and the ones who had first come for Shepard's body were forced to retreat by the...Whatever they were.

"_This is unexpected interference."_

I could hear the words of Goto coming through again.

"If he died, he-...He might have been incinerated. That beam hit him almost square Admiral. Shepard was the most valiant person I had ever met. But I feel like.."

Goto's voice hitched slightly. She could hide much, but not everything. She was worried, afraid even.

"I feel like we forget that he was still Human. Enhanced, but Human."

Shepard's light flickered, threatening to go out for good, before he was taken by the mysterious entities, whisked away before he could pass on.

I snapped out of the memory, raising my hand from the earth, and spoke into the Omni-tool

"The Exemplar lives, but time is short. He was critically wounded, but was abducted by a group of...Things."

The Admiral's voice came back through the comm. "Things?"

"I cannot determine their nature, but I can assume that their intentions were not good for us."

"Understood, damn good work Javik. Can you pinpoint where they took him?"

"I could only keep up with them for a few meters, and besides, this happened many hours ago now."

"that's alright, at least we've got something. This is major. Javik, upload the coordinates that they went toward. Even if it's approximate we can at least get a direction to head in."

"Understood." I replied.

"Good."

"What will you do now that we know of this?" Kasumi interjected.

"Don't worry, the Reapers may have the planet locked down and sword may be running for its life, but we're _persistent_"

I smiled knowingly, odd when annoying traits become positive ones.

"Besides, Garrus Vakarian assures me that he and his rifle will have something to say about how this war ends."

I exchanged glances with Kasumi.

"Hackett out."

* * *

**Commander Shepard. Three hours after fall of Hammer.**

Wet...there was something wet on my arm. I felt it pooling at my fingertips. I could taste something in my mouth. Dirt...Blood.

"_What's happening?"_

My eyes opened slightly, it hurt just to do that. I looked at my arm, it was covered with the same stuff that I could taste in my mouth.

"_Is that my blood? Must be...I don't bleed easy. Must have got my ass kicked...That hasn't happened since..."_

I was on my back, a bump in the road made me aware that I was in some sort of vehicle, an old fashioned flatbed truck, the type you don't see much in the space age anymore. I looked around as much as my eyes could turn from my direction. I couldn't move my neck for some reason.

"_I should...Probably get...Chakwas to sort that out."_

I glanced around a bit more and see a figure sitting on a crate next to me, a helmet covered his face. It's not like it would have mattered, my vision was so blurry for some reason. I must have drank way too much last night. I was becoming notorious on the Citadel for throwing some pretty badass parties after all.

The figure next to me shifted a bit, and I could suddenly see something that made my heart almost stop. The Alliance insignia was proudly emblazoned across the area of his armor that was placed over his heart. Suddenly it had all came back to me. Reapers, Earth, Normandy, War, Crucible, the last charge, "Save humanity", "Gut the bastards", "One last hill".

I gasped, and the sudden inhalation of air caused a pain the likes of which I have never felt. Moisture began to pool at the edges of my eyes from the sheer intensity of the pain I was feeling. But I had no choice, I had a war I needed to fight, and I didn't have time to lay here on my fucking back while it was being fought. I opened my mouth, but I couldn't speak. I could feel anger and desperation begin to well up in my chest, I could have swore that was hurting too.

God damn it, why couldn't this soldier just fucking read my mind? Did he not know who I was? In desperation, I began to reach for my dog-tags. If I could show them to him, maybe he'd understand that I need to get up.

Dear God, the pain was unbearable.

But I couldn't stop, I needed to do _something_, everyone I ever knew could be dying right at this moment. My arm seemed to not want to move. It shook and trembled meekly as I dragged it closer to my torso desperately.

"_Come on! Move god damn it!"_

It eventually complied, slowly I was able to bring it up toward my neck, and wrap one of my digits around the thin metal chain around my neck. These things were easy for someone to rip right off, so what kind of shape was I in that I couldn't even come close to removing it? I struggled, but barely moved. I had zero strength, but apparently my impotent attempts to do something finally caught the attention of my watchman, as he finally rose from his crate and leaned down over me.

I was wrong, I had merely drawn his attention to my dog-tags that I was trying to rip off. I yelled triumphantly inside my head, happy that he had finally gotten the picture.

A slight jerk, and the soldier had removed my dog-tags, and proceeded to throw them off the edge of the truck.

Even my mind sat in stunned silence...

"_What the fuck is going on? Why the hell would...I can't...Damn it...I need to...Need to...Get up..."_

Everything went black...


	3. Garrus, Goodman

**Earth, London**

**Two days after Fall of Hammer**

**Garrus Vakarian**

I breathe out...

Most people don't understand the amount of time that passes you know, between when you decide to take the shot and when you actually take it. By my own very critical standards, I had excellent reflexes, yet I still can't help but have a hundred thoughts before I pull the trigger. For example, the thoughts of doubt and fear. Am I going to miss? What if I hit the person I'm trying to save? Does it ever bother me in this millisecond that if, by some small chance I miss, that a young Quarian engineer's neck is about to be snapped like a twig by a brute?

The ammunition system of the Viper slices the round from the internal projectile block and locks it into the chamber firing position...

No. Not normally anyway. Moments like this had become commonplace in the company of Commander Shepard. Although this moment was unique, the Commander wasn't here, or anywhere that we knew of for that matter. And that was the biggest problem with me right now. The unsureness, the nervousness, the shaking, oh the damn shaking. I never had these issues before, even when I was on Omega, there was just something different about it all. The engagements were smaller, the consequences for a missed shot less far-reaching and cataclysmic. Sure people would die but...

I can't let this register on a personal level. If I do then I'll become too nervous and...

The round finally fires, a dull whistle slicing the air around me as it flies. A Quarian grabs frantically with her small elegant fingers at the vicious claws suspending her by her throat a few feet off the ground. She flails, the grip of the brute nearing a pressure sufficient to cause shattering of vertebrae. I heard a faint gurgle of saliva and blood, although it's possible I imagined that, the distance is substantial. Death is nearing for the girl as the brute just stared up at her pathetic wriggling form. It must be toying with her, looking for that moment of realization in her eyes when she understands that it's over and she's going to die...messily.

I squint and see that it hadn't killed her yet, but its grip hadn't lessened either. I rose from my perch and turned my back to the scene, radioing my other ally down on the field.

"Zaeed, attend to Tali's wounds until I make my way to you." I said calmly

A response came back quickly. "Would love to scars, but ol' girls 'bout to get her neck snap..."

I breathed in...I had done this a million times already.

The radio chimed again "Right, big ugly just collapsed. Hell of a fuckin' shot scars."

* * *

I approached Tali and placed a gentle hand on on of her arms. She still seemed shocked and frightened from nearly having her neck broken like a toy and the pain from the whole ordeal was no doubt still fresh in her mind. I lent my touch, hoping that I could lend reassurance in this moment. It was a nice enough thought I think.

"I'm fine Vakarian, get off of me..." The Quarian's smooth accent rung in my ears. Her tone was cold, as it had been for a while now.

I withdrew my hand as I spoke. "Just trying to make sure you're alright."

She had walked off before I could even finish. I hung my head a moment, but I quickly pushed the feeling aside before turning back to my squad.

Zaeed surveyed the terrain of broken and demolished buildings from cover, making sure to scan the windows and doorways every couple of seconds. It was quiet now. Bodies of all sorts littered the area, but that was nothing new anymore. We had lost this war already and were just trying to survive now. The sword and shield fleets had been all but decimated, and the remains of them were running from point to point to avoid the Reapers and keep the Crucible hidden.

I watched as Tali hurriedly scanned the terrain for signs of their objective. Nothing stopped her for the duration. Nuclear ash flew around the landscape like snow, a cold wind sweeping through every so often. The occasional beat of harvester wings far overheard would make us duck, but other than that we were unmolested.

Finally Tali signaled to me that she had found something. I instructed Zaeed to keep watch while I jogged over to her. I knelled down beside the Quarian, stifling another rising want to comfort her to focus on what she was presenting. After a moment Tali pulled a chain from the dirt, two dirty silver dog-tags dangling from the end of them. I used my thumb to clear some dirt away, just enough to make out a name.

Shepard.

My heart beat a little bit faster.

"These are his Tali."

The Quarian nodded and pointed to a set of large tire tracks leading north of our position. My mandibles twitched, I was confused.

"What I'm gathering from my Omni-tool suggests that whatever vehicle this was was carrying Shepard."

"This is not adding up. We were told that he was abducted by Reaper forces, you seen any husks driving lately?" I spoke the words sharply, probably too sharply. I was on edge and was doing a poor job of hiding it.

"It's possible that our info was out of date...But if he was located by Alliance forces I'm sure everyone would have known about it by now. Something is definitely off Vakarian."

I cringed as I heard her refer to me as Vakarian a second time. The use of my last name usually meant she was not pleased with me in the slightest. And she had good reason to be, considering I had taken my sweet time lining up my last shot.

I called to Zaeed, the old mercenary coming over to where we were already. With a quick nod and a few words we were off following the tracks of the vehicle that had apparently made off with Shepard. I hid my fear of finding what had become of him beneath a cold exterior. I also hid the hurt from Tali's feeling of anger towards me as well. In the absence of the greatest champion the galaxy had ever seen, I had been asked to step into the commanding role, it felt like trying to fit the shoes of a planet.

"Wonder if you're at that bar already Shepard."

"Stop it Vakarian"

The glare of Tali was upon me, but I couldn't meet it. I felt like a coward.

Zaeed spat into the ground as we walked.

"Oi, if Shepard's been at a fuckin' bar this whole goddamn time..."

* * *

**Earth, Alliance Camp**

**Two days after Fall of Hammer**

**Goodman**

I couldn't shake the feeling of surrealness.

I watched as the last shuttle was lifting off from the ground. We had just finished loading a new type of communications device on board of several different shuttles. Most of the other communications had been destroyed or damaged in the fighting since the Reapers attacked Earth, but luckily this was one of the few issues that Alliance command had foresaw early enough to plan for. The new tech was just nearing completion as the main assaults had begun so our job was simply to load it up and take it to where it needed to be, which was every remaining outpost of resistance left on Earth. There was even one being shipped up to Admiral Hackett so that he could simultaneously keep in touch with the remaining ground forces when they were ready to stage a counter-attack.

Perhaps that was what made it feel off. I couldn't come to terms with the fact that this 'end of the world' scenario was actually coming to pass. Truthfully maybe it wasn't the scenario itself that had me bent out of shape, in my mind I almost didn't seem surprised it was happening but how it had happened maybe?

I shook my head and readjusted the grip on my Mattock, reminding myself that at any minute I might need to help the other soldiers repel the borders from another Reaper ground force. We had deflected three of them already today and I was almost positive that a fourth would be arriving before too long. My grip on my Mattock tightened at the thought...

I felt a hand touch my back and immediately knew that a husk had snuck up on me and was about to rip me apart. I cursed at myself and spun on my heel, my omni-tool flash forging a blade as I faced my attacker.

"Jesus man, wait! It's me! Your watch is over, Doc wants you to report to the medical tent!"

I stood still for a moment, not immediately lowering my weapon as I observed the familiar soldier that I had been serving with for the past day or so. I sighed and relaxed.

"Sorry, Reapers have me on edge. I'll go see what the doc needs."

I patted the man on the shoulder and walked off, he gave an understanding nod and took my post.

The walk to the medical tent was quick, but still required me to pass by the other tents that were set-up for various field operations. The main purpose of the camp was field intelligence. This one in particular was responsible for coordinating the intel for the remaining ground forces on Earth. After a moment I finally reached the medical tent and stepped inside. A voice greeted me instantly as I entered.

"Ah, I see you've made it to me Corporal Goodman. Good, I've got many patients and not much time to spare."

The doctor was an extremely well known expert by the name of Karin Chakwas. Everyone in the Alliance had probably heard of her at this point, and I was no exception.

"Sorry doctor, just making sure those listening devices made it off safely."

"Yes, I understand soldier. I'm just going to quickly administer your medication and then you can be off on your soldierly duties again, I assure you."

I nodded. I had been receiving a dosage of some type of medicine daily to help me recover quicker from the injuries I sustained two days ago. I tried asking about what the hell hit me in the head that made me forget when I got deployed to Earth, but nobody seemed to know, what's more, I was the new guy in the unit so nobody had any history with me.

I watched as Doctor Chakwas hovered the syringe filled with the dark red liquid in it near my skin. She hesitated, her hand trembling slightly and her face seemed almost pained for a moment.

"Something wrong?"

She shrugged the feeling off before sticking me with the syringe and administering the liquid. I looked at her a moment after she applied the medicine and saw that she suddenly had begun bleeding from her nose. I was going to comment again but a sudden blue hum surrounded me for a brief moment as the serum was administered. It was apparently my biotics reacting to the outside stimulus of the medicine. Having biotics was also something I didn't immediately recall. Just another side effect of injury they had all assured me.

I made a note of Chakwas' pained expression but decided not to press it further at the moment. I gave an appreciative nod to her and walked out. As if on queue, my omni-tool began to blink. Someone was trying to open a private channel with me. I stared at it for a moment, the ID was encrypted and no information was provided. I figured it could have been from Alliance Command, so I opened the link. It wasn't Alliance Command.

The face a beautiful and young looking Asari greeted me as the link opened. Her eyes stood in wide shock, the expression in the beautiful blue of her face reflecting this. Immediately, almost tripping over her words she began to speak, I was listening intently.

"It...Corporal Goodman...I am." The Asari blinks, she seems to almost tremble. "I am Liara T'soni, and I have information vital to you, Corporal Goodman."

"And what might that be T'soni?" Goodman was positive he heard that name plastered all over the extranet, but he was unsure as to what she wanted with him now, Liara T'soni dwarfed Doctor Chakwas in terms of galactic fame.

"I have information vital to the war effort, if you want it I need you to meet me at the coordinates-..."

Suddenly gunshots and an explosion interrupted my focus. Soldiers began screaming about attackers to the east attacking from the cover of one of the ruined skyscrapers. Oddly enough they weren't screaming about Reapers. Apparently the attackers were...Turian, Quarian, and Human. I blinked as some soldiers ran to evacuate the remaining communications tech, and others raced to defend the perimeter. I gritted my teeth and looked back to the omni-tool.

"Sorry Liara, another time."

"No wait! You don't understa-" I cut the connection.

Immediately I threw my helmet on and charged in the direction of the attack. I wanted to know what the Asari had to say, especially if it could help win us the war, but I wanted even worse to know why our own people were fucking attacking us.

* * *

**The search continues. My main struggles in the next chapters are going to be making sure that I place certain POV's logically. I want to urge all readers to pay attention to the dating before the beginning of the POV so that they do not get confused. Events in the story will at times occur out of chronological order as they various members of the crew get closer and closer to the truth of what happened to Shepard.**

**As always reviews are appreciated so I get better, thanks for reading folks :)**


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